Major assassination attempts in Syria's conflict

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition forces have targeted government officials, army and police officers and civil servants in their campaign to topple President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Here is a list of some of the major assassination attempts in Syria since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011:

—April 29, 2013: A bomb attached to a parked car detonates as Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi’s car drives by. Syrian state media reports the prime minister is not hurt in the bombing in the upscale Damascus neighborhood of Mazzeh, which is home to many embassies and officials in Assad’s regime. State media says one person is killed and several are wounded, but activists say the explosion kills five, including two of al-Halqi’s bodyguards and one of his drivers.

—March 21, 2013: A suicide bomber blows himself up in a mosque in central Damascus, killing Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, a leading Sunni Muslim preacher and outspoken supporter of Assad, and 41 others.

—Dec. 12, 2012: A car bomb targets the Interior Ministry in Damascus, wounding Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. Initially, Syrian state media says al-Shaar is not hurt in the blast, but “several” are killed. News of his injuries emerges a week later, after he is brought to neighboring Lebanon for treatment.

—July 18, 2012: A blast at the Syrian national security building in Damascus during a high-level government crisis meeting kills four top regime officials, including Assad’s brother-in-law and the defense minister.